THE RED DEER. 25 



face the wolves. It runs till it dies, or is thrown 

 in the open, and there is no question whatever 

 of its defending itself in any way other than by 

 speed. 



As weapons of defence against the wolf-packs, 

 then, antlers can be written off as worthless. The 

 deer that turns at bay is just as surely doomed 

 as is the deer that falls exhausted in the snow. 

 Speed and stamina are the only weapons it has 

 against wolves, and heavy antlers handicap the 

 deer from the outset of the chase not only by 

 their weight, but by forcing it to make many 

 a detour to gain wider gaps in the timber. Far 

 from the antlers being protective, it may indeed 

 be that the protection lies in the shedding of them 

 before the wolf peril reaches its zenith ! 



Of what possible value, then, are the spreading 

 antlers of the red deer and its allies ? 



There is just one plausible explanation that 

 might be worth advancing that the antlers exist 

 in order to single out the males, and so to prove 

 the salvation of the females. If the male popula- 

 tion sank as low as 2 per cent., the species might 

 yet exist; but a hind killed means a direct loss 

 to the species. 



The stag himself is well aware that his antlers 

 are his betraying feature that they mark him 

 out as one apart, and worthy of special attention. 

 When alarmed, he will hide himself in the midst 

 of a parcel of fleeing hinds, and run with his 

 neck extended, his head held low, so that his 

 towering points no longer serve as a landmark 

 proclaiming afar ' There is a Stag.' Does not 

 this instinctive striving on the animal's part, his 

 immediate impulse to skulk low and so hide his 

 head, seem to suggest that the head is there for 



